


The Lunchbox

by Isola_Caramella



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Epistolary, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-07 11:45:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12232182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isola_Caramella/pseuds/Isola_Caramella
Summary: The wrong train can take you to the right station.





	1. Silver

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to J/B week 2017. I am a huge (ginormous) Bollywood fan and borrowed everything but the characters from Ritesh Batra, those I borrowed from GRRM. Hope this fusion works and you enjoy. 
> 
> All of my other fics are on hold this week to concentrate on making J/B week the success it always is. Can’t wait to see all of the amazing fics, doll stories, videos, and art work the fandom comes up with this year. XOXO

“Don’t play outside today. It’s raining.”

“Okay.”

“Too much mud, you’ll slip and break your head.”

Bethany giggled as the school bus honked outside the window. Brienne opened the apartment window to wave to the driver, getting his attention as her daughter jumped off the table and grabbed her bag and umbrella. Two long, dark plaits bounced on her shoulders as Bethany made her way down the steps and out the front door. Brienne watched until the bus was well away and had turned the corner before leaving the window.

“Did you remember all the spices?” Walda, her upstairs neighbor, shouted down through her open window.

“No,” Brienne said, going to her spice cabinet, looking around for the ground ginger she was sure she’d picked up in the market.

“Here,” Walda yelled, sending down a jar of ground ginger on their shared basket. “I could smell it from up here. This new recipe will do the trick for you. I know you’re laughing at me but you’ll see. Just a little bit!”

Brienne smiled to herself as she put a pinch of ginger in the leek soup, hoping that for once, Hyle would appreciate the effort she was putting into his lunch. The silver stainless steel lunchbox had four separate containers and Walda had talked her through making today’s lunch with the patience a septon talked to a new convert to the Faith. She knew their marriage had died, whether it was before or after Bethany was conceived she couldn’t bring herself to say but he was her husband and she’d made a vow.

Food was a way to man’s heart, and Brienne knew she possessed little else to turn a man’s head or heart her way. The lunch service had been Hyle’s idea, a new hipster delivery start up that only charged a few dragons to pick up from a restaurant or home and drop off at a business within ten miles. It would save them money he’d said and with her father ill, it made sense.

“Now it smells perfect!” Walda purred from her balcony, hoisting their basket back up.

Brienne ladled out the soup into one container, seasoned rice into another and pushed the beef and peppers off of the skewers into the third container. The flat bread warmed on the back of the stove until the delivery boy knocked on the door to pick up the container. Brienne gave Pod the lunchbox filled with her desperate attempt to keep her marriage together. Sending a prayer to the Seven that Hyle would think of her as he took each bite.

***********

Jaime looked up from his desk as the lunch delivery boy dropped off his food for the day. He would need to cancel the service before he took early retirement and made a mental note to stop by the restaurant by the end of the week. No need to wait until the last minute. The food was mediocre at best but it suited the sad state of his life.

“Lannister.” His boss barked, approaching his cubicle with a dark haired man in tow. “This is Bronn, he worked as an accountant at a small firm in King’s Landing. He comes with great references. See that he’s trained properly. Bronn, Jaime Lannister, learn everything you need to before he goes.”

Mr. Tully was gone before Jaime could refuse. He had no plans to  train his replacement or anyone else. He wanted to finish the month and retreat to Lannisport and drink himself into an early grave.

“Do you want to start now?” Bronn asked, his starched shirt showing the beginning of a sweat stain.

“Sure, but it’s lunchtime. Meet me back here at two and we can start then.”

“I’ll see you at two. Thank you.”

Jaime escaped to the staff lunchroom, ignoring the watchful eyes trained on his back. He was used to silent judgment now. The silver lunchbox was new, and Jaime thought the cook must be new too. The vegetables were still crisp and the meat cooked just right. The rice wasn’t the plain glob they normally sent, but fluffy with some sort of seasoning. His lunch was all gone before he realized it.

—————

Brienne sorted the laundry as she listened to the recipe for Pentoshi Honey Duck, it was Hyle’s favorite but she rarely cooked it anymore because it took so much time. Hyle seemed more dismissive the harder she tried and she had stopped trying. Hurried feet stopped outside her door and Brienne toppled a pile of folded clothes to collect the lunchbox, biting her lip to stop the smile that formed as she unpacked the empty containers.


	2. Silver part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne learns the fate of her meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed. All mistakes are my own.

Jaime walked into the restaurant, the stench of stale grease assaulting his nose as soon as he crossed the threshold. A chinless Frey scuttled to the front counter, eyeing Jaime warily.

“What happened now?”

“I’m retiring next month. I’ll be canceling the lunchbox service.”

“Okay, sir. I’ll make sure it’s noted.”

“I’ll settle the bill at the end of month.”

“No worries. Thank you.”

“And, who made the lunch today?”

“We did Mr. Lannister. Why?”

“The food was good!”

“What?” The chinless Frey asked, his face shocked.

“It was good, very food. Maintain the same standard.” Jaime advised, the business had a better chance of succeeding with the new cook.

The Frey nodded at him. Jaime gave a brief nod and walked out of the restaurant to go home. A group of kids were hanging on his gate, a small brown haired girl jumped off as soon as she spotted him crossing the street.

“Hi Mr. Lannister, our ball went inside your gate. Can we please have it?”

“Do I look like your servant?” Jaime asked, spying the ball on the second floor balcony.

“No, sir. Can we please have the ball Mr. Lannister? We’ll go play on the other side.”

“If you ever play in front of my gate again, I’ll chase you down the street.” Jaime shut the gate, leaving the horde of children with their dirt streaked faces behind him.

————————

Brienne watched Hyle as he ate his dinner and watched the news. Bethany quietly picked through her food and pushed her vegetables as far away as they could get. Brienne waited to see if he would say anything.

“How was your lunch today?”

“It was good thanks.” Hyle spared her the briefest glance before going back to the television.

“Just good?”

“Uh, yeah. The cauliflower thing was pretty good I guess.”

Disappointment coursed through Brienne as the realization that her hard work had gone to someone else and not her husband. Of course it would go to the wrong person on the one day she really needed it to make it to Hyle. She waited until Bethany finished to clear the table and start washing the dishes. Hyle abandoning them to go discuss work in his bedroom.

“Brienne?” Walda shouted down.

“Yes, Walda, I’m here.” Brienne turned the water up to cover their conversation.

“Did you call out to me earlier?”

“Yes.”

“I was changing Roose’s diaper. What did Hyle say?”

“Nothing.” Brienne tried to whisper shout.

“What?”

“Nothing. Walda, the lunchbox went to someone else. It went to someone else who liked it and finished it.” Brienne told her, still disbelieving her rotten luck.

“But the delivery boy never makes a mistake.”

Brienne felt eyes on her back and turned to find Bethany staring first at her and then the still running water pinging the steel sink. Contrition made Brienne turn it off and take her daughter to their shared bed.

———————

“Good morning. How are you?” Bronn called out from behind Jaime. He’d avoided him with success the day before and prayed to the Seven he could do it again.

“Good morning.”

“I came yesterday and you were gone.”

“I was right here. You were late.”

“I was here at 2:00.”

“I was here. You were late.” Jaime had watched as Bronn chatted with another accountant and waited until he was distracted to slip away discretely.

“No problem.” The way Bronn grunted it out, Jaime knew it was a problem but not one he wanted to voice out loud. “Are these the accounting files?”

“This is the accounting department.”

Bronn laughed. “When do we start training?”

“Let’s do it.”

“Really?”

“Let’s do it after lunch.”

  
“You’ll be here?”

Jaime nodded and watched Bronn walk away.


	3. Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of stretched it with gold but honey ties in with our duo so well XD.

Jaime goes to his regular table in the lunchroom, away from everyone, and opens his lunchbox. Steam rises up and the aroma makes his mouth water. The mushrooms are firm and whole, the garlic caressing his tongue with each bite, the container is finished before he can pair it with the golden duck. He looks around to see if anyone is watching, picking up a fork finally to keep any gossipers at bay. The golden and crisp duck is a delicacy, tender and succulent and Jaime wants to say lovingly prepared but it seems too maudlin. 

The last container is full of candied ginger, the sticky sugar balancing the kick of each bite. Jaime is close to moaning in pleasure, seduced by food. It’s absurd. A folded piece of paper is at the bottom of the round container, Jaime hears laughter and looks around at the other tables to see if this is some sort of joke. No one is paying him any attention.

  
Hello,  
I hope you are enjoying the food. Thank you for finishing the lunch yesterday. It was the best thing that happened to me in years. For a few hours, I thought my husband ate the food I cooked for him, wiped it clean and would come home and tell me that it was very good. 

Of course, none of those things happened. But for a few hours, they happened over and over, in my imagination and in return for that, I am cooking for you again. Just this once. Today its honey duck and Illyrian mushrooms in garlic and butter, my husband’s favorite. I hope you enjoy.

Brienne   


———————

The laundry is never ending but it provides Brienne something to do with her restless hands. How she let Walda talk her into sending the note, ugh, it hurt her head to think of Hyle seeing the note now. It was too late to take it back. Walda had convinced her that a thank you was owed to the person who had sent back the empty lunchbox. Even when Brienne fretted that Hyle would be upset, Walda advised to let it go. He hadn’t noticed yesterday, let him notice today she’d said. That only sounded good in practice Brienne thought. 

Pod’s knock on the door brings Brienne back in time to not burn the shirt she’s ironing, taking the few steps to the front door to collect the lunchbox. The empty lunchbox. As she takes apart the containers Brienne wonders childishly if he’s licked each one clean. In the last container Brienne finds the reply, her heart rate tripling.

“Walda. Walda?” 

“What is it?”

“I got a reply.”

“Oh! A reply?! I told you he would get jealous and write back.”

“It’s not Hyle’s handwriting.” 

“What does it say?”

“Dear Brienne, the food had too much salt today.”  
“What else does it say?”

“Nothing. Just ‘Dear Brienne, the food had too much salt today.”

“No hi, no thank you, no nothing?” 

“No.”

“Humph, wait a minute.” Walda’s feet slap against the floor as she goes further inside. Their basket lowering to Brienne with Dornish chilies. “Since he doesn’t like salt, let’s give him something else tomorrow.”

“Walda, no. I’ll tell Pod the food is going to the wrong place.”

“What do you mean? Who does he think he is? The gall! Not even a thank you.”

“Walda, I don’t like this at all.”

“It’s not like you know him, it’ll serve him right.”

Brienne hesitates for a few more minutes before taking the chilies.


End file.
